New Stadiums Bring Cool Tech, but Will Teams Regret the Impact on Fan Engagement?

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Kaepernick drops back to throw. Oh, what an amazing move to avoid the sack! He’s looking deep. Touchdown! Crabtree with an incredible diving catch! And the crowd … appear to be quietly staring down at their smartphones?

OK, maybe this exact scenario hasn’t happened. But many sports teams that have built technically impressive and highly connected stadiums are reporting that the crowd isn’t quite as engaged, noisy or supportive as they were in the past. Which to me seems to be an obvious effect of making it easy for fans to connect to video, social networks and fantasy leagues while at the game. After all, how can you watch a live game while you’re staring down at your phone?

Without a doubt, these cutting edge arenas, especially the San Francisco 49ers new Levi’s Stadium, are technological marvels. As a network guy, I can’t help but be impressed at how they can make it possible for 60,000 fans to connect to high-speed wireless networks, utilize stadium services and have, arguably, a better mobile experience than they do anywhere else.

[ See also on Innovation Insights: Launching Levi’s Stadium: A Day in Digital Content ]

But I’m starting to wonder if some of these teams are regretting these enhancements. Sure, I can see the arguments. “We have to stay on the cutting edge. Millenials are the future fan base and they need these mobile capabilities. People want to be checking their fantasy stats all the time, even at the game.” I get it, these are all true. But it’s also true that, when it comes to winning, home field is often a big advantage, especially in football. One has to wonder if the Seattle Seahawks would be the defending Super Bowl champs if their vaunted 12th man (the home crowd) was looking up fantasy stats instead of making it hard for the visiting team to call plays.

Part of the problem is cultural, and it isn’t just millenials. Too many of us have become accustomed to checking what’s going on in our networks and social connections constantly, and can’t stand a second of delay. In fact, it’s probably happening in your office right now.

How many times do you have a meeting where everyone brings a phone, laptop, tablet or combination of all three? I know this has happened to me. I’m paying attention in a meeting and then, “Oh hey, what’s this message? I’ll just take a second to read this…. What? What do I think about the process you just outlined? Ummmh.” And if you’re saying this hasn’t happened to you, well, your ability to say that with a straight face means that you may be qualified to be commissioner of a major sports league.

This situation might seem funny but this negatively impacts your organization’s productivity. We all joke about meetings but serious work and planning happens in these. If people aren’t paying attention, that’s wasted time and money.

Luckily, the solution is easy. Now I’m not going to argue for some luddite, throw all tech away and head to the woods for a month nonsense. But let’s be realistic, 99% of everything that comes through email, messaging, social networks or the Internet can wait an hour. Those messages that you’re wasting a meeting to answer could have waited till the meeting was over.

The same is true at sporting events. Come on, these games are really expensive nowadays. You should be into every minute of the action. For sports fans, here’s my suggestion. Watch the game. When your team scores, jump up and scream, high-five other fans in your section, do the wave, chant the team chant, do all that fun stuff that’s the main reason to be at a game rather than watching it in the comfort of your home. And the best thing is, seconds after you do all this, they’re going to a commercial break. You’ll have plenty of time to watch a replay, boast on social networks and share a selfie.

In the end, these devices and apps are tools. They help a lot and can be great fun. But there’s plenty of time to use them and still keep your head in the game (or work).

Jim Rapoza is a Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen Group.

A version of this article was originally published at Tech Pro Essentials.

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